#835 of 1001 · November 13, 2022

It’s time for another Fairy Tale Theme Week. Rather than one specific tale type, will center on a character. And what a character! The wild witch of the woods in Russian folklore herself…welcome, one and all, to Baba Yaga Week. Let’s get things started with this Baba Yaga book by Katya Arnold. An elderly couple, longing for a child, wrap a wooden log in a blanket and place it in a cradle. The next morning, they discover that the log has turned into a baby boy, whom they name Tishka. When he is older, Tishka’s mother warns him to beware of the evil witch Baba Yaga. Sure enough, Baba Yaga soon kidnaps him and takes him to her hut. After tricking her into devouring her own daughter, Tishka must use all his wits to escape the witch’s vengeful clutches. Arnold draws inspiration from tradition Russian lubok prints in her bold-colored, thick-lined illustrations. A note for folklore enthusiasts: Baba Yaga features in countless tales from Russia and many other countries in Eastern Europe. “Baba” means “grandmother”; “Yaga” (accent on the second syllable in Russian but on the first syllable in several other cultures) is a bit more mysterious, but it seems to come from the root words for “terrible” or “wicked”. This particular narrative is adapted from a Russian story called Tereshichka. A bit of personal history: Katya Arnold was my art teacher when I was a child! #witch #log #hut #goose #geese #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks